date: 08.09.2021.
Just six years after reaching the major milestone of feeding one million children each day, Mary’s Meals announces an even more incredible achievement.
On Wednesday, 8 September, on the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, international school feeding charity Mary’s Meals is delighted to announce that now it is reaching more than two million children in 19 countries with life-changing meals every school day, thanks to an impressive grassroots movement taking action all over the globe.
The work of Mary’s Meals grew out of Medjugorje, and it is the fruit of Medjugorje and the fruit of prayer.
The landmark achievement of Mary’s Meals feeding 2 million children every school day will be officially announced and celebrated in the remote desert region of Turkana, Kenya, where communities serve the much-needed daily meals to children attending Early Childhood Development centres. One of the children will make the announcement, which will be broadcast as part of a celebratory online event at 7pm (BST).
The virtual event is open to all and will include reflections from the charity’s founder, Magnus, as well as highlights from the celebrations in Kenya and contributions from hundreds of members of the Mary’s Meals global family. To join the celebrations, please visit: marysmeals.org/2-million
Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, founder and CEO of Mary’s Meals, said: “Today we celebrate an amazing moment in the Mary’s Meals story. Today, two million children ate Mary’s Meals in a place of education.
“When we set out on this path nearly 30 years ago, we were overwhelmed by people’s goodness in donating – and that’s been the story ever since. I thank you with all my heart on behalf of each of those children, for every bit of hard work, for every gift given, for all those unique things each person brings to this enormous Mary’s Meals’ table. Thank you, and please let’s keep going forward.
“For every one of those children that ate today, many more are still waiting for Mary’s Meals to come to their school, so we go on. But this happy day shows us that this vision of ours is possible.”
The charity had humble beginnings to say the least: a one-off good deed from a shed in the Highlands of Scotland eventually led to a small school feeding programme in Malawi, aiming to bring vital meals to around 200 children in two schools while they learned. Now more than 30% of the primary school population of Malawi enjoys the nutritious meals, served in schools by local volunteers who are determined to help the next generation to build a brighter future.
MacFarlane-Barrow often states that the charity’s impressive growth is fuelled by countless acts of kindness from people from all walks of life. Among many volunteers and supporters around the world, Mary’s Meals is extremely grateful for the involvement of young people in Medjugorje. The youngsters have given major support to the Mary’s Meals team during the Mladifest Youth festival, as well as capturing some incredible 2 million photos at Apparition Hill by Our Lady’s Statue.
Recently, Apparition Hill in Medjugorje was glowing in blue T-shirts as more than 80 people – made up of volunteers, guides, Franciscan youth and other friends of the Mary’s Meals – gathered around the statue of Our Lady to form a figure of 2,000,000 representing the 2 million children currently being fed by Mary's Meals. Wearing recognisable Mary’s Meals T-shirts, the crowd climbed Apparition Hill while praying the rosary thanking our Lady for this beautiful gift of Mary’s Meals.
To find out more about the work of Mary’s Melas and how to get involved, please visit: marysmealsmedjugorje.org/
